I wont let you choke on your misery
by Organizedmadnesss
Summary: Rose is walking back from a friends house and stumbles upon some trouble. What she doesnt realise is the man she saves is Jack Barakat from All Time Low, and its the start of so much more. First fanfic, so give me some reviews, i wanna know what people think of it (:
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

The streetlights silently shone in the darkness, their light shimmering on the wet ground. My footsteps were the only thing breaking the dead quiet. My phone buzzed. It was Alice telling me to let her know I got home safe. She was such a worrier, but I guess I had left her house fairly late. I wasn't too worried though, I walk this path so frequently and it wasn't too secluded, I felt safe enough. I smiled to myself at her caring thought and carried on the short walk home. I sped up slightly, hearing rowdy voices coming from the bars that this path snaked behind. The amount of activity out on the street made me think there must have been a something going on in town that night. As I walked and came closer to a turn in the path, the voices became louder. I could hear shoes scuffing, a struggle?

"Look. How pathetic, he can't even stand straight he's so drunk." Loud laughs followed. I slowed my steps, sinking into the wall of the alley. I had no idea what I was about to see, but I knew it wasn't good. I took a deep, quiet breath in and peered round the corner.

I was right, it was anything but good. Four men circled another, he was obviously incredibly drunk. The four had pinned him to the wall of the alley. One of the men stood directly in front of him, he seemed to be the ring leader of … well, whatever they were. I really didn't like the way this was heading.

"Not as confident without your friends are we?" The other men laughed, mockingly tapping the poor guy on the arm.

"I need to go…" he protested, slurring his words slightly. He tried to push them away but they just shoved him back against the wall.

"Get off me!" The four only laughed in his face. Something must of snapped inside him, he took a swing for one of them. That was it. They all began to beat him. He was screaming for them to get off but he could do nothing….but I could.

"HEY!" I shouted, I had no idea what to do. They acted as if they hadn't heard me. I ran towards them, putting myself in front of the drunken guy and tried to get the bigger guy off him.

"GET OFF, GET OFF HIM!" I yelled half possessed, pushing hard against his chest. My efforts were counting for very little, and I was unsure how much longer I could stop them from hurting us. Whilst I was blocking the attacks from the guy stood in front, the other two were hitting the bloodied and bruised man behind me from the sides. He was yelling out in pain and I was beginning to panic. I could feel him struggling and fighting less as the seconds passed. The biggest man grabbed me hard by the shoulders and tried to throw me down, hitting me in the stomach. A whimper escaped from my lips and I doubled over in excruciating pain. As I looked up, the light caught what he was grasping in his hand. My pulse began to hammer and the air caught in my throat. I reached under my shirt, feeling a warm gush under my palm. Blood stained my hand, I'd been cut.

Nothing went slower like it does in the movies, I had no time to feel sorry for myself or think of a plan. I gritted my teeth and pulled myself back up, throwing myself at the man still holding a knife. I gave him the best right hook I had; I felt my bones crunch as I hit his face.

"You little bitch!" He knocked me to the floor. The others stopped their attack and stepped forward, all eyes on me. The man they were attacking, the man I had put myself in this horrific position for, slumped to the floor. There was no one here to save me and I had no strength left to save myself. As I looked into the eyes of the attackers, I did the one thing I had left, bluff.

"The police will be here any second now, I hear knife crime is a pretty serious offense." I didn't dare show my fear. They all laughed at me. The leader knelt down, putting his face right next to mine. Every single part of me was screaming inside, cringing away from his warm breath on my face.

"I'm afraid what's about to happen next may be even less forgivable." He stroked my cheek with the back of his hand and held his knife under my chin. Tears rolled down my cheeks and I closed my eyes, realising I could do nothing but hope it wouldn't be too painful. I waited….but nothing happened. I opened my eyes to see the men frozen and looking at each other with worried expressions. Then I heard what they could. Police sirens. The man in front of me stood up and with one last cold glance at me, led the others down the alley. I couldn't care less where, anywhere away from us was good enough.

I crawled to his side my eyes brimming with tears; he was in a bad way. His eyes followed me, but he did not move or speak. I put my hand on the side of his neck, running my thumb along his jawbone.

"Can you hear me? What's your name?" I kept my voice as clear as possible, but it was hard.

"Jack" he replied in little louder than a whisper.

"Hey Jack, my names Rose. Your gunna be okay, I'm going to call for some help. That was a close one huh?" I laughed very weakly. I wasn't sure if I was trying to reassure him or myself. I moved my hand from his neck and shuffled back slightly to call an ambulance. Jack's arm shot out and he placed his hand on my knee.

"Wait, please.. please don't leave me." His eyes mirrored mine, tears beginning to brim over. I took his hand in mine, shaking like a leaf, and promised I wouldn't leave him. As I made the call for an ambulance, I watched his face carefully. I suddenly realised who it was, how could I have been so blind and stupid. The guy laid in front of me, covered in blood and bruises, was Jack Barakat.


	2. Chapter 2

I had taken Jack's phone from his pocket; I guessed it was my job to break the news to the rest of the band. I found Alex's number, took a deep breath and dialled. What the hell was I supposed to say? This was not exactly how I had imagined meeting them. The phone rang for a while.

"Jack, don't be a dick. Let me sleep, this stopped being funny years ago." I could tell by the huskiness of his voice I'd just woken him up.

"Uh, it's not Jack," This was going to be painful.

"My names Rose, I'm in the ambulance with Jack. He's okay, just a bit bruised and bloody but we're on the way to the hospital just to be on the safe side." I could hear movement, but no voice. I assumed he was checking Jack's bunk thinking this was a cruel joke.

"Shit, I hadn't even realised he'd left the bus, what the fuck happened!" I could hear the panic and pain in his voice. I briefly explained what had happened in the alley way, not that I wanted to revisit that memory, ever.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. I'll stay with him until you get to the hospital." It's not like I could go anywhere anyway, I had my own injuries to sort out. My cut was definitely in need of stitches. He thanked me and hung up. The tour bus had been on the road on the way to the next venue, so they'd be a while. Jack was beginning to sober up, his hand still tightly gripping mine.


	3. Chapter 3

After a short while we got to the hospital. Jack was better, just a bit disorientated. I was sure he would be fine once the alcohol was out of his system, which I hoped would be soon. I let go of Jack's hand and he looked at me in confusion. He had obviously been so out of it earlier he hadn't seen me on the floor. I needed to be seen too. I promised I'd come find him and followed a nurse down the hallway. I was right, I needed stitches.

The pain was excruciating. I hated showing weakness, but it was too much to bear. Tears brimmed over and once they started, they didn't stop. After what seemed like hours, I noticed someone in the corner of my foggy eyes. Jack was stood in the doorway. He looked horrified, his eyes full of guilt. He walked over, kneeling beside me. He held my hand and gently brushed the hair from my face. He looked so much better now he was cleaned up.

"I am so sorry"

"This isn't your fault; you didn't ask to be beaten up." I spoke through gritted teeth; the stitches were still making me wince.

"But if i…"

"Do you think we could talk about this later maybe?" I interrupted; it was hard enough concentrating on not turning into an emotional wreck right now.

"We sure can, sorry." I could tell by the look on his face he was going to torture himself about this. I placed my hand on his cheek.

"It looks worse than it is, promise" He smiled at me weakly. I had a lot of convincing to do, but i didn't care. It meant I had to stay with him a while longer, something I was strangely happy about.

The nurse finished up, wrapping my stitched wound in a bandage and left me and Jack alone. I shuffled along the bed and gestured for Jack to lie down next to me. He looked how I felt, exhausted.

Minutes went by and no words passed between us. I wanted to ask why he had been so drunk when I found him, but I didn't want to put my foot in something he didn't want to uncover. Jack broke the silence.

"What are you thinking about?" He didn't move his gaze from the ceiling tiles. I lied.

"How I'm going to turn this into a bestselling record." I replied with a slight smile. His head snapped round.

"You write?" He said with the first proper smile I'd seen since we met. I couldn't help smile a little in return. He was so infectious.

"Only a little." I said, turning to face him. I instantly regretted bringing up.

"Well I guess that's something I've got to look forward to hearing". Not a chance I thought to myself, nothing I had ever written was any good. I swiftly changed the subject.

"What are you thinking about?" He returned his gaze to the ceiling and thought about my question before he answered, saying something much deeper than I was expecting.

"I was thinking, wondering about what made you stop and help me. I mean, anything could of happened to you and it would have been so much easier for you to just turn around and leave me. Not that I wanna think about what would of happened if you had" I hadn't really thought about it until he had brought it up. I had no idea either; it wasn't like me at all. I couldn't have an argument with someone without tearing up.

"Well, you wouldn't of got hurt, something I will never forgive myself for" He lowered his eyes, refusing to look at me still.

"Shh now, there's nothing to forgive" I rested my head on his shoulder, realising how heavy my eyelids were. I felt Jack shifting my head as he pulled his arm around me just as my eyes closed.


	4. Chapter 4

I woke to laughing, and three more voices than I was expecting. Jack had visitors.

"Hey, Jack was just telling us how you managed to fight off four guys, that's pretty damn impressive. I think even muscle man over here would have had trouble with that" Alex tilted his head towards Zach, who just rolled his eyes and shook his head with a smile.

"Oh, it was nothing" I said smiling at Alex. Rian was yet to say anything. He was leant against the wall near the back of the room, eyeing me and Jack curiously. I sat up to stretch, forgetting about my cut. It burned just as much as it did when it was fresh.

"What's wrong?" Jack looked at me with panicked eyes.

"Nothing, nothing. Just a bit tender" I slid back slowly.

"So, why did you leave the bus dude? We had no idea you had gone" Rian spoke up.  
Jack said nothing. He just dropped his eyes to the floor and shrugged. There was definitely something I didn't know, the need to know what it was burned inside my head. The band didn't try and dig any deeper, just accepted he didn't want to talk about it. I knew he would probably fill them in when I had left. That reminded me of my promise. The guys were here now, it was probably time I left them to it.

"I guess I better be going." I swung my legs over the side of the bed, slowly standing up. I felt so disorientated, I had no idea what the time was or how long I'd been asleep. It hurt to think that this was goodbye. Jack also stood up, standing by the door.

"Well, we can't thank you enough for taking care of our idiot brother" Alex jokingly ruffled Jack's hair. They all thanked me and gave me a gentle hug, careful not to put pressure on my cut.  
Jack threw his arms around me.

"Thank you so much, I won't ever forget this." His words sounded incredibly genuine, and sad. I smiled into his shoulder.

"It's okay. Just steer clear of dark alley ways for now, just until I've recovered enough to come save your ass again" I pulled away, smirking at him. Jacks answering smile was nothing less than beautiful. I stood in the doorway, not quite able to look away from his gaze.

"Bye" I whispered.

"Bye" I watched all happiness fade from his face as I left, not knowing if I'd ever see him again.


	5. Chapter 5

6 MONTHS LATER

"I'm sorry!" she was sobbing, but her tears meant absolutely nothing to me. How could you do this to someone who is supposed to be your friend? I dropped my head, tears rolling down my cheeks. I didn't want to be anywhere near her right now, I didn't want to breathe the same air.

I looked her in the eyes and spoke quietly.

"Bye Fiona." I turned and walked away from the girl I had called my best friend since I was 4, the girl who had just lost the right to call me a friend at all after what she had just told me. I didn't look back and she didn't try and follow me, she accepted this friendship was over. For good.

I had been walking through town for an hour, round and round. Not caring in the slightest where I was heading or what was to happen. Once the anger fizzled out, I was left with a broken heart. I had no tears left to cry and i had not lifted my eyes from the pavement below my feet. Someone tapped my shoulder.

"Excuse me, would you mind…" The girl in front of me was clutching a camera; she had stopped talking when she saw my face.

"I'm sorry… I didn't realise …" She fumbled her words, not quite sure what to say.

Behind her stood a group of busily talking girls. They were surrounding what I assumed was a band by their excessive tattoos and the gooey look in the girls eyes.

"Did you want me to get a picture?"

"If you're sure..?" I forced the best smile I could and she passed me the camera. One of the men put his arm round the girls shoulder and smiled. The camera flashed and she thanked him for the picture, giving him a hug. I handed her back the camera, forcing a smile.

"Thank you." She smiled at me timidly in return and turned back to her friends.

As I walked around the crowd, I realised it was a lot bigger than I had first thought. There were people everywhere. On any other day I would have stopped and taken the opportunity to get some pictures too. But I wasn't in the mood to be in front of a camera right now. I dropped my eyes to the floor again, hoping to avoid a repeat of what just happened. I didn't feel like playing photographer either.

My phone rang in my pocket. Fiona I thought to myself, had she not got the message earlier? I pulled my phone out ready to cancel her call, but to my surprise it was Alice. I thought about cancelling it anyway, I wasn't in the mood for talking. But I loved Alice with every piece of me, if anyone could pull me out of the dark hole I was in it was her.

"Hello?" my voice sounded so raw; there was no point in hiding anything from her anyway.

"Fiona just called me expecting me to help her, What a fucking nerve!" She was just as angry as I had been a few hours ago.

"She filled you in then."

"Not exactly, she only told me she had done something terrible and didn't know what to do about it. I was hoping she was being dramatic but by the sound of your voice…" I managed to find some tears from somewhere.

"Aw, Rose" Her voice was thick with sympathy and worry. I wiped the tears from my face with my sleeves and took a deep breath.

"It was her. She tore up Dad's card" I was sobbing now. It was a memory I didn't want to revisit. It had happened a few years ago and Fiona had chosen that now was a good time to tell me it was down to her. I threw a stupid party at my house; I was a complete train wreck. My Dad had just passed and i found my relief in the bottom of a bottle. At some point during that night, someone had gone into my room and had been through all of my stuff. Throwing all of my clothes on the floor and ripping my college work up. Among the college work was the very last birthday card I had received from my Dad, I found it ripped into little pieces. I was distraught when I found it; that card was the very last piece of him I had left.

There was a long silence down the phone.

"I am going to kill her." Alice spat the words down the phone. If I hadn't of hated Fiona so much I would have been scared for her. Oh how I loved Alice.

"Listen to me Rose; don't let that bitch get to you. I'll deal with her, don't you worry about that. But for now, for tonight, there's a concert in town and I have a spare ticket.

"Oh I don't know Alice…" I wasn't great company right now.

"Please? For me? I'm going to need some distracting or I'll be waking up in a jail cell tomorrow" I smiled at the thought. I sighed.

"Pleeaaaseee?" I couldn't say no to her.

"Ugh, fine! You win I'll go" But I wasn't going to pretend to be happy about it.

"Great! I'll see you at seven." She chimed and hung up.


	6. Chapter 6

I wasn't excited for the concert, more looking forward to seeing my now closest friend. I didn't make much effort to look nice either. I threw on some denim high waisted shorts that I had dip-dyed white on the bottom and tucked in a grey sweater. I just wore my hair down normally; it was still holding its natural wave, resting at the middle of my back. It wasn't like anyone would be seeing much of me anyway.

Alice came and picked me up at seven as promised, looking gorgeous as usual. I began to regret not making an effort as I looked like a troll next to her, though that was nothing new.

"Hello stranger" She smiled at me as I sat in the passenger seat. I had made the right decision in coming, I already felt so much better seeing Alice.

"Where'd you put the body, in the boot?"  
She smirked at me with a devilish look in her eye.

"And have my car get all dirty? Ew." I laughed till my sides hurt.

I survived Alice's crazy driving and we got to the venue; Alice parked just round the corner. It was pretty dark already, the streetlights were on. Darkness is something I have grown to dislike. The queue wasn't too big, there was a good chance we'd be right at the front. Whilst thinking about that, it occurred to me I had no idea who I was actually seeing.

"So who's playing tonight?" some girls queuing a while in front of us gave me strange looks, which I ignored. Hard core fans I assumed.

"Sleeping with Sirens, heard of them?" I was pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah, they're not bad actually. Nice one Alice." I smiled at her, thinking again that I had made the right decision in coming.

I was right; we were one line from the front bar. Alice was so excited about being close to the stage and her good mood was rubbing off on me. It was a good turnout; everyone in the venue was packed in tightly and the support bands got a good response. The atmosphere was amazing. I even had a rock out with Alice, bumping into each other being stupid and laughing our heads off.

The support band had just finished. Me and Alice were about to head to the toilet when a black curtain fell down covering the stage. Loud, confused chatter filled the hall. Alice and I looked at each other.

"What the hell…." She was about as confused as me.

I heard the screams before I saw him. Kellin Quinn appeared on stage with nothing more than I microphone. We all hoped he would give us an explanation.

"So." He spoke into the mic with a smile. Every single girl in the venue screamed, Alice included. I hoped the hearing in my right ear would return in time to hear whatever it is he was going to tell us next.

"We haven't been entirely honest with you." Great. I'd had enough surprises for a life time today.

"We brought some of our friends with us today, and they wanna play a few songs for you." The crowd screamed in response, Alice turned and grinned at me. All that was left was for him to tell us who. Who could it be? He walked slowly to the edge of the stage.

"So, please welcome on stage…All…. Time… LOW!" The screams deafened me and I began to panic.

Jack.

I didn't know whether to push myself to the front bar or run away to the bathroom.

I chose the second option.


	7. Chapter 7

Why? Why did I just do that? I felt someone's hand on my shoulder, pulling me back.

"Where the hell are you going in such a hurry?" It was Alice, I had no idea she had been following me.

"I just ... I need some air" I hadn't told Alice about Jack. I hadnt told anyone. I didnt think I needed to; I was convinced I would never see him again. We walked through the merch tables to get to the exit. I sat down on the steps outside the venue.

"Do you feel okay?" She put her arm around me, looking concerned.

"Yeah, I just panicked. It was so hot... and all that screaming."

"If your hot, take your damn sweater off silly" she rolled her eyes at me with a smile. I sighed and reluctantly stood up, pulling my sweater over my head. I heard a gasp.

My scar. How could I be so stupid.

I froze and looked at Alice. She was horrified, unable to tear her eyes away from the ugly thing.

"Don't panic," I sighed, sitting back down on the cold step.

"i'll explain everything."

Alice's expression was hard to read, a mixture of confusion and disbelief. She took a moment to process what i had just told her before speaking.

"After all this time thinking you would never see the guy again... why did you run from him?" I couldn't answer her, not for the life of me.

"I don't know" I held my head in my hands. I was so disappointed in myself. She put hand on my shoulder and stood up.

"Right. Get up." I lifted my head and looked at her in confusion.

"Quickly now! We don't know how much longer the set is for" Oh no.

"Alice, I can't do this..." But she wasn't taking no for an answer. She pulled me up by my arms and pushed me up the steps.

"Right, push your way back to the front. I'll be right behind you, I'm just going to get you some liquid confidence." With a wink, she left. I was really doing this.

I pushed my way through the crowd, dodging arms being thrown about. The band were killing it and the crowd were going crazy. I got to the mosh pit. There was no way around it, I had to walk through. I tried pushing past a big guy stood in my way, there was no point in being polite about it. But no matter how hard I pushed, he wouldn't budge. I shoved him between his shoulders and he turned round. the expression on his face made me want to turn around and leave. He smiled at me unaturally, shifting so I could get past. I shuffled past, standing on the edge of the pit. That's when he saw me.

I smiled timidly, not knowing what to expect. The colour drained from his face, he looked at me with horror. He was shouting something I couldn't make out. He didn't want to see me. My throat became stuck and my eyes stung. I knew this was a mistake. I was about to turn towards the exit when there was a loud cracking noise.

Everything went black.


	8. Chapter 8

I could feel someone's hands carefully probing the top of my head.

"How's she doing?" I wasn't sure, but I thought the voice belonged to Zack. But I was certain I didn't know the voice that replied.

"She'll be fine, there's no lasting damage. How's your friend doing?" What friend?

"He's okay; we forced him to clean himself up. He's more concerned about her." Rian answered.  
As much as I tried to force my eyes open, nothing was happening. I was trapped in the darkness. I wanted to know what had happened and remembering the look on Jack's face, I wanted to leave before he came back. I heard the door open.

Somebody laced their hand in mine and brushed the hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ear. I knew who I wanted it to be, but it couldn't have been.

My eyes slowly opened.

"Alice" It was so good to see her.

"I can't leave you alone for five minutes can I?" She grinned at me.

"What happened?" My head pounded, I felt like I'd been hit by a train. I was laying on a sofa in what I presumed was a dressing room backstage.

"Do you remember the guy giving you trouble by the pit? He was obviously on something, and thought it would be hilarious to try smashing a bottle on the back of your head. Luckily Jack saw it and got you out before anything else could happen."

"I don't think he wants to see me Alice." I couldn't hide the sadness in my voice.

Her brows pulled together in confusion.

"Well he's got a funny way of showing it."

"What do you mean?"

"He dropped his guitar and left the stage mid-song to get you out. He's in a room up the hall cleaning himself up. It turned into a bit of a brawl and the rest of their set had to be cancelled."

"What?" I looked at her in disbelief.

I swung my legs round, standing up too quickly. Alice caught me before I landed on the floor in a heap.

"Where is he?" Alice wrapped her arm around my waist, keeping me stable.

"I'll show you"

Alice led me down the hallway, stopping outside a door.

"I'll leave you to it, come find me if you need me. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"…. I think so." Alice nodded and went to turn away.

"Wait, Alice… do I look okay?" She grinned at me, rolling her eyes.

"Of course you do, now go get him!" She gave me a gentle push towards the door and left. I was on my  
own now.

I took a deep breath and knocked the door. Alex answered, a smile widening across his face.

"Hey there trouble." He pulled me into a hug.

"How's the head doing?"

"It's still tender, but I'll live. I'm sorry about you not being able to finish your set."

He just looked at me curiously and laughed.

"Yeah, how dare you get bottled!" He said mockingly with a smile.

"It's hardly your fault. If anyone's to blame its Jack for starting the damn fight."

Rian popped his head round the door.

"He's been spending way too much time playing wrestling games on his Xbox, thought he could take that guy on."

"How is he?"

"He'll be a whole lot better knowing you're okay."

I heard Rian calling for him. Alex moved aside and gestured for me to come in.

"Yeah?" Jack appeared out of the shower room, his hair wet and stuck up in every direction. I had no idea which way this was going to go. Jack's eyes met mine. The smile from the hospital, my favourite smile, spread across his face.

"Hello you," He moved forward, hugging me tightly. As he came closer I saw his face more clearly. I gasped

"Jack, your lip!" I held his chin straight so I could get a better look at it. He just rolled his eyes at me with a smile.

"It looks worse than it is, promise."


	9. Chapter 9

I was starting to wonder where Alice had got to. I wasn't worried; I knew that she could look after herself. Knowing her she would be sat at the bar with some gorgeous musician buying her drinks.

I was still in All Time Low's dressing room, sat on the couch with Jack watching the others play video games. They were hilarious to watch, they got so into it. Controllers were being thrown around and they were screaming at the TV screen.

"You had me scared earlier." Jack said. I turned to look at him and he met my gaze. I spoke without thinking.

"So did you." Jack frowned at me.

"It doesn't matter now." But I wasn't getting out of it that easily. He smiled at me with intrigue, waiting for an explanation. Well done Rose.

"Well… the look on your face when you saw me. I wasn't expecting you to be overjoyed; I didn't know what I expected honestly. But you looked like you'd seen a ghost."

Jacks eyes softened, he playfully nudged me with his shoulder.

"Why would I not be happy to see you? And anyway, I wasn't looking at you. I was looking at the idiot behind you." That reminded me that I hadn't thanked him.

"Thanks for helping me out. Not that it was worth you getting hurt for" I ran my finger along his bottom lip, it looked so sore.

"There's nothing to thank me for, we're even now." He licked my hand with a smirk.

"EW!" I laughed, wiping the spit on my hand back on him.

The bands manager appeared at the door.

"Right guys, it's about time we left. All the gears been loaded up already, we're just waiting on you."

Great. My face dropped, I didn't want to leave him again. Jacks expression mirrored mine and the rest of the boys groaned in unison.

"Hey, Rose. What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Uh, nothing…why?" I looked at Alex in confusion.

"Why don't you meet us, you can bring Alice. We're only traveling a few miles away. We're spending the day on the beach."

Jack flashed a quick grin at Alex, who winked in return. I didn't need to think about my reply.


	10. Chapter 10

Alice was exactly where I thought I would find her, maybe a little more intoxicated than was healthy. We took a cab home and she stayed on my sofa. I hadn't had a chance to tell her what was happening today, I highly doubted that she would be happy about sitting in the sun for hours. I was sat in my lounge, waiting for the dead to awaken. She appeared at the doorway in yesterday's clothes, make-up smudged down her face. I couldn't help but smirk.

"DON'T! ….. Say. A word."  
She threw herself down next to me.

"Coffee?" I looked to her with raised eyebrows, biting my lip and trying my best to conceal a smile.

"mmhmmm" she closed her eyes, covering her face with a cushion.  
I set her coffee down on the table and sat back down.

"Thank you." She uncovered her face, taking a cautious sip.

"So, what happened with your American lover boy? We didn't have a chance to catch up last night, y'know with-"

"With you drinking the bar dry and obliterating your liver?" I interrupted with a smile. She grimaced.

"It just happened! Anyway, stop avoiding the question."

"Nothing too exciting, sat in with the rest of the boys until they had to go. And….."

"And?!"

"Alex invited me along to the beach today. And you're coming with me"  
She groaned and opened her mouth to protest. I gave her the best puppy face I had.

"Please Alice?" I mockingly sniffled, wiping away an invisible tear.  
She huffed, giving in.

"Fine! I'll come.." I beamed at her. She poked her tongue out at me and hit me in the face with a cushion. Laughing, I walked towards my bedroom.

"Be ready in an hour" I called back to her.


End file.
